Abe promises Japanese support for US in Ukraine crisis

March 07, 2014 - 1:35:59 pm

TOKYO: Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday assured President Barack Obama that Tokyo would back US efforts to address the Ukraine crisis after Washington lined up sanctions on Russia, an official said.

The pair held telephone talks in which Obama "explained the stance of the US government in the Ukraine situation", Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the government's top spokesman, told reporters in Tokyo.

"Prime Minister Abe told (Obama) that Japan will support President Obama's efforts and hopes for quick progress in the Ukraine situation," Suga added.

"The two sides agreed that Japan and the United States will continue to maintain close communications, while agreeing on the significance of respecting Ukraine's sovereignty."

Criticism of Moscow is a difficult balancing act for Abe as he moves to resolve a decades-long territorial dispute with Russia and build economic ties.

The United States on Thursday imposed visa bans and set the stage for wider sanctions against Russia, warning any move to split the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine would break international law.